Any film cannot be completely devoid of merit.
Moreover, since the original 'Sleeping With The Enemy' grossed over $100 million at the North American box office, it must contain certain elements that can pique the audience's interest.
Thus, after joint public relations efforts by Daenerys and Fox, when the film premiered on June 15th, mainstream media reviews were mostly positive. They either praised Michelle Pfeiffer's performance as the new lead, lauded the film's cinematography and soundtrack, or delved deeper into the film's revelation and condemnation of domestic violence. In short, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive.
When the aggregated media score was released, 'Sleeping With The Enemy's' 6.7 rating even surpassed 'Dick Tracy's' 6.4 from the same period, and was significantly higher than the sub-5 score estimated by the distribution team based on test screening feedback before the film's release.
Furthermore, 'Sleeping With The Enemy' was the first of Daenerys Entertainment's 10 co-produced films that had been long-awaited by media and fans, establishing its popularity even before filming began.
Ultimately, over its three-day opening weekend, 'Sleeping with the Enemy' earned $18.86 million across 1,719 screens.
With an average of over ten thousand dollars per screen in three days, it immediately joined the ranks of hit movies.
In comparison, Disney's 'Dick Tracy', despite earning $22.54 million in its first three days, which surpassed 'Sleeping with the Enemy', was screened in 2,332 theatres, and its average box office per screen over the weekend was lower than 'Sleeping with the Enemy'.
The $18.86 million earned in the first three days was already comparable to 'Ghost's $19.76 million in its first seven days.
Based on the calculation that the opening weekend accounts for 60% to 70% of the first week's box office, 'Sleeping With The Enemy's first-week box office is expected to reach $27 million to $30 million. Even if 'Sleeping With The Enemy' cannot achieve the impressive long-term run of 'Ghost' due to its reputation, subject matter, and audience, as long as the second-week drop does not exceed 30%, it should still easily hit the $100 million mark at the North American box office.
Moreover, even if it doesn't break $100 million, compared to 'Sleeping With The Enemy's total production cost of $15 million and a marketing budget of $7 million, even if Fox only holds half of the investment, factoring in a 10% distribution commission, the return on investment for this film will easily surpass that of 'Die Hard 2', which is scheduled for release on June 29.
Unlike 'Sleeping With The Enemy's total production and marketing investment of $22 million, Bruce Willis's 'Die Hard 2' had a production cost alone of $70 million. Including massive domestic and international marketing budgets, the film's global box office would need to reach at least three times its production cost, or $210 million, just to break even.
Simon recalled that 'Die Hard 2's global box office was roughly around $200 million.
For the new week, Simon flew to the East Coast on Monday, June 18th, to guest star at Madonna's Saturday concert.
He had originally planned to take a year off to relax last year, but too many things on hand prevented it. Simon simply treated this guest appearance as a form of relaxation. After the guest appearance, Simon would fly to Melbourne to personally oversee the filming of 'Batman: The Dark Knight'.
During this time, Simon and Madonna's team had maintained very close communication.
Madonna sold the concert live broadcast rights for $6 million, which was five times her ticket revenue for each concert at the Brenda Barry Arena, and 10% of the total ticket revenue for this tour.
To achieve the best stage effect and ensure all collaborators felt they got their money's worth, after much persuasion and subtly pushing Daenerys Entertainment to give her two free movie cameo opportunities, Madonna also received two new songs from Simon.
Of course, they were originally all hers.
If Simon was unwilling, it would naturally be impossible to get songs from him.
However, Madonna's career wasn't that long, and there weren't many songs suitable for live guitar performance. Although Simon treated this guest appearance as relaxation, he didn't want to perform in a mediocre way, so he agreed.
Although Simon didn't ask for an appearance fee for this guest role, it involved two new songs, plus the previous one, 'Bad Romance', which Madonna planned to save as the lead single for her next album. The royalties still needed to be calculated, but of course, Simon didn't need to worry about those details personally.
Madonna concluded her Toronto tour on June 17th. Originally, without Simon's involvement, moving to New York would only require appropriate rehearsals to familiarize herself with the venue. However, due to Simon's addition, this week, besides the evening concert opening on the 20th, all daytime hours were dedicated to rehearsing and refining the three songs Simon would be performing.
Considering that the live broadcast revenue from a single concert was equivalent to a quarter of her total box office revenue for this 60-show tour, Madonna was also highly motivated.
Amidst the busyness, time quickly arrived at Friday again.
The complete weekly box office data for June 15th to June 21st was officially released.
Disney's 'Dick Tracy' ultimately took the top spot for the week with $34.74 million at the box office.
Following closely, 'Sleeping With The Enemy', which opened in the same week, had a first-week box office of $27.62 million, ranking second. This box office figure significantly exceeded the distribution team's initial expectations.
It is estimated that after next week, the film will recover all its production and distribution costs from its North American domestic box office, and then it will be all profit.
Although neither of the two summer films related to Daenerys Entertainment had yet secured a weekly box office championship, 'Ghost', ranking third, was even more attention-grabbing than 'Sleeping With The Enemy', which ranked second.
In its third week of release, after a significant increase in screens, 'Ghost' only saw a 12% drop compared to the previous week, earning another $18.01 million in a single week.
In three weeks, this fantasy romance film, which had an unexpectedly slow start, had accumulated $58.33 million at the box office, and Daenerys Entertainment had now begun to turn a profit.
Moreover, the almost flat box office curve for three consecutive weeks indicates that 'Ghost's total North American box office may not stop at just $100 million. Industry predictions widely suggest that 'Ghost's North American box office will reach at least the same level as 'Pretty Woman'.
Hollywood originally thought Daenerys Entertainment's strength had always been thriller and horror films. The 'Final Destination', 'The Butterfly Effect', and the 'Scream' series in recent years were simply too famous. It could be said that, besides the unexpected 'Run Lola Run', Simon Westeros primarily made his name with horror films.
Looking back now, they realized that Daenerys Entertainment had unknowingly created three classic romance films worthy of Hollywood history: 'When Harry Met Sally', 'Pretty Woman', and 'Ghost'. The success of 'Batman Begins' at the end of last year further proved Simon Westeros's boundless potential in comic book adaptation action films.
Adding in the successful art-house films produced by Highgate Film, it was clear that Daenerys Entertainment had no weaknesses whatsoever.
Originally, 'Total Recall', which had clearly suppressed 'Ghost' at the start, saw its box office decline significantly narrow in its third week, dropping only 26% this week compared to a 41% drop last week. However, its single-week box office had already fallen to fourth place on the list, earning only $15.74 million, with a cumulative box office of $72.14 million.
Based on this box office decline trend, 'Total Recall's total North American box office is projected to be only around $120 million.
Warner Bros.' crime thriller 'Presumed Innocent', starring Harrison Ford, which ranked fifth, also showed an unexpected box office trend. Although its opening was not high, it only had a slight drop of 13% in its second week, earning another $10.17 million. Its total box office is expected to have a good chance of exceeding $50 million.
In addition, two new films were released in North American theatres this new week: 'Another 48 Hrs.', starring Eddie Murphy, and the fantasy horror-comedy 'Gremlins 2: The New Batch', with Steven Spielberg credited as producer.
Inside the apartment at East 68th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Simon and Janette sat in the dining room, eating breakfast and casually reviewing the past week's box office data.
The two summer films already released, 'Ghost' and 'Sleeping With The Enemy', were largely settled. With their box office performances anchoring the season, Simon was not too worried about 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' on July 6th, 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' on July 27th, and 'Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth' on August 10th.
Janette waited for Simon to put the box office report aside and said, "We've basically finalized the deal with that mattress company called Simmons. Would you like to go take a look this morning?"
The reason Simon noticed Simmons was because this mattress company was simply too well-known across the ocean, practically synonymous with mattresses.
However, after reviewing the information, this long-established mattress company's operating conditions had been unsatisfactory in recent years, and before Simon noticed the company, Simmons had already been sold twice in 1986 and 1988.
The first time was to a private equity fund, which bought Simmons for $124 million in 1986. After two years of operation, Simmons successfully emerged from its original operating difficulties and continued to thrive even after the 1987 stock market crash.
Believing they had played a crucial role in this process, the Simmons management team proposed a management buyout to the private equity fund in 1988. The private equity fund readily agreed to cash out, ultimately taking $240 million.
Simmons also became an employee-owned company.
Then, clearly overestimating their own capabilities, coupled with the high debt incurred during the management buyout and ill-timed internal profit distribution reforms, Simmons' previously improving operating conditions rapidly deteriorated in the past two years, mirroring the predicament of tobacco giant Reynolds Nabisco, which was also beginning to struggle at this time.
Simon heard Janette say the deal was mostly settled and asked, "What's the exact price?"
"$96 million for 100% equity," Janette said. "However, after the acquisition, we will also have to assume $136 million in debt".
Over $100 million in debt, this was clearly leftover from the previous management buyout.
Simon thought to himself and asked, "It's not Apollo Management funding this alone, is it?"
Janette shook her head and said, "Of course not. We brought in two other private equity funds to cooperate. We're investing $36 million, taking the largest share, and will control Simmons going forward".
Simon nodded in agreement.
An investment of $96 million, even with the $136 million in debt, was manageable for Apollo Management, which still held $500 million in cash. However, this did not align with the investment style of private equity funds. Putting all funds into one project would not only increase risk but also hinder the fund's ability to exit at an appropriate time.
Only bearing a portion of the investment while still gaining control of the acquired company, Simon believed, was the optimal investment approach.
After a moment's thought, Simon said, "After the junk bond market collapsed, the model used by Drexel Burnham Lambert, KKR, Carl Icahn, and Ronald Perelman to acquire companies with high leverage and quickly cash out by breaking up and selling assets is no longer applicable. Going forward, private equity should focus on improving the operating conditions of acquired companies. Perhaps, while engaging in corporate mergers, Cersei Capital could also cultivate a team of specialized professional managers".
Janette nodded seriously and said, "I'll discuss it with them today".
Simon, hearing Janette's quick agreement, added, "Of course, what I'm saying isn't necessarily right. After all, you're the experts".
Janette leaned against Simon and said, "Even if you're wrong, I'll listen".
Simon pretended to be overwhelmed and dodged, laughing, "Don't be like that, it makes men too conceited".
Janette's eyes flickered twice, and her gaze dropped: "You're conceited, do you need my help?"
Simon raised a hand and tapped the woman on the forehead.
After a few jokes, Janette softly said, "I've already had them start building long positions in crude oil futures. If your judgment is wrong this time, we could lose a lot".
Although Saddam had threatened war to protect Iraq's oil interests, there were no immediate signs of conflict in the Middle East yet.
Recent crude oil prices fluctuated between $14 and $15. Simon knew that the lowest point of this crisis was $13, but many analytical agencies predicted that international crude oil prices might fall to $10 due to continued production increases by Kuwait and other countries.
If the war did not happen as expected on August 2nd, and crude oil prices fell to $10 a barrel, Cersei Capital would not only have to give back all the profits earned from short-selling in the previous months, but might even lose its principal.
This was indeed a very risky bet.
However, high risk also means high reward.
If they didn't place their bets in advance, once the situation became clear and everyone saw the signs of war and rushed to establish long positions, Cersei Capital wouldn't have much profit to make then.
Simon thought about this and said to Janette with a smile, "If we lose, we lose. We've been too conspicuous these past few years. I really want to lose once somewhere now".
Janette smiled and didn't say anything more.
After breakfast, Janette hurried to Cersei Capital's headquarters in Midtown, but Simon did not go to Jersey City. Madonna had just had a concert last night and was probably still asleep that morning.
Simon's destination was the Daenerys Entertainment East Coast branch in Greenwich Village. Another new film project, 'Wayne's World,' which had just been acquired, needed to be discussed that morning. It was adapted from a 'Saturday Night Live' skit, created by Mike Myers, who later starred in the 'Austin Powers' series.
After Simon outlined the next development goal of expanding into the vulgar comedy market to Danny Morris, the head of New World Pictures, he quickly discovered this alternative comedy, which grossed over $100 million at the North American box office in the original timeline, among a batch of projects scouted by Morris.